Project MOST, an after-school program that serves about 300 children in the East Hampton and Springs school districts, is seeking the community’s help in winning a $25,000 grant from State Farm Insurance.
Tim Bryden, the program’s executive director, has asked community members who have Facebook accounts to visit the program’s website, ProjectMOST.com, where they will be able to cast their vote.
Participants can vote up to 10 times a day, and the deadline is April 27.
Mr. Bryden said there were originally 3,000 applications, and Project MOST is one of 200 finalists. The top 40 vote winners will receive grants. As of Monday night, Project MOST was in 39th place.
“This is an opportunity to empower the community,” Mr. Bryden said. “It will let people feel like they can really do something.”
Project MOST services children in kindergarten through fifth grade in East Hampton and kindergarten through eighth grade in Springs. The after-school program offers children help with their academic subjects as well as exposure to dance, art and recreational activities.
Most of the children the program serves have working parents. “Some kids don’t have a kitchen table to go home to,” Mr. Bryden said.
Project MOST has a total budget of about $450,000 a year. It is funded by the state, town, school districts and user fees.
New York State provides the lion’s share of its funding through a five-year $1 million grant. East Hampton Town has contributed $35,000 this year. Families pay approximately $45 per week per child for the program.
on Apr 4, 2013